US3701965A

US3701965A - Connector for electrical terminals

Info

Publication number: US3701965A
Application number: US166936A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gideon A Durocher; Ellsworth S Miller
Original assignee: Essex International Inc
Current assignee: Lear Corp EEDS and Interiors
Priority date: 1971-07-28
Filing date: 1971-07-28
Publication date: 1972-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-31
Also published as: FR2147278A1; JPS5128433B1; DE2236453A1; DE2236453B2; CA961945A; FR2147278B1; IT963200B; GB1385330A

Abstract

A connector for electrical terminals has a housing within which is accommodated a rotary and axially movable first terminal carrier which constantly is biased by a spring to move axially of the housing toward a second terminal carrier which is rotatably assembled with the housing and is drivingly coupled to the first carrier to impart rotation thereto. Discontinuous flanges on the housing and the first carrier disable axial movement of the latter in one position of rotary adjustment thereof and in a second position of rotary adjustment enable axial movement of the first carrier toward the second carrier. The second carrier has discontinuous flanges which cooperate with the discontinuous flanges on the housing in the second position of rotary adjustment of the carriers to prevent separation of the second carrier from the housing. The terminals carried by the carriers confront one another and engage a resilient, compressible pad of elastomeric material containing electrically conductive particles which establish a conductive path between the confronting terminals. The terminals themselves preferably are integrally formed at the free ends of wire conductors.

Description

United States Patent 1 51 3,701,965 DuRocher et a]. I 1 1 Oct. 31, 1972 [54] CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL TERMINALS 1571 ABSTRACT v Miller, both of Mount Clemens,

Assignee: Essex International Inc.

Filed: July 28, 1971 Appl. No.: 166,936

Int. Cl. ..H01r 13/52, H011 13/54 Field of Search ..339/45, 59-61,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,066,770 1/1937 Doane ..339/90R 3,324,445 6/1967 Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynn Attorney-Leannan & McCulloch US. Cl. ..339/60 M, 339/90 R, 339/94 M I Miller ..339/61 M 23 Tali A'connector for electrical terminals has a housing within which is accommodated a rotary and axially movable first terminal carrier which constantly is biased by a spring to move axially of the housing toward a second terminal .carrier which is rotatably assembled with the housing and is drivingly coupled to the first carrier to impart rotation thereto. Discontinuous flanges on the housing and the first carrier disable axialmovement of the latter in one position of rotary adjustment thereof and in a second position of rotary adjustment enable axial movement of the first carrier toward the second carrier. The second carrier has discontinuous flanges which cooperate with the discontinuous flanges on the housing in the second position of rotary adjustment of the carriers to prevent separation of the second carrier from the housing. The terminals carried by the carriers confront one another and engage a resilient, compressible pad of elastomeric material containing electrically conductive particles which establish a-conductive path between the confronting terminals. The terminals themselves preferably are integrally formed at the free ends of wire conductors.

18 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures P'A'TENTEMBIB M I I 3,701,965

sum 1 BF 2 {a ii'irp 25 FIG .4

I NVE NTORS Lea'rman 8' Mccullod PATENTEDucIQI I972 3.701. 965

I INVENTORJ @7440" A Qodmr' BY Z/ATa/ofh 8. MM/er human 8 McCulloch CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL TERMINALS The invention disclosed herein relates to separable connectors for multiple electrical terminals and more particularly to an electrical connector construction composed of separable terminal carriers which, when assembled,'confront one another and constantly are biased toward-one another by spring means so as to assure excellent electrical conductivity between the terminals.

Connectors for multiple electrical terminals have many different forms of which thepin and socket terminal connector appears to beone of the most popular. Such a connector is composed of two parts or halves, one of which supports a plurality of pin terminals and the other of which supports a corresponding plurality of socket terminals. The use of terminals of these kinds presents several problems, one of the most severe of which is that of obtaining proper alignment of the pins and sockets so as to make it possible for all of the pins to be received in their respective sockets. The align ment problem is particularly pronounced in those instances in which a large number of pin and socket terminals are supported in their respective connector bodies because each pin must have a relatively large portion thereof unsupported so as to enable it to be received in its associated socket. To minimize therisk of inadvertent movement of the pins due to carelessness or rough handling, it is common to form the connector half in which the pin terminals are housed in such manner that the connector extends beyond the free ends of the pins. As a consequence, the connectors are quite large in size and, in many cases, are much larger than conveniently can be accommodated in the space available.

Another difficulty frequently encountered with separable connectors is that of maintaining the separable parts of the connectors assembled in such manner as to assure electrical integrity of the circuits including suchterminals. It is quite common for one half of a connector body to be.provided with resilient tangs and the other half of the connector body to be provided with slots for theaccommodation of such tangs. In the assembly of such. parts the body half having the'tangs must be either pushed into or over the other body half a distance sufficient to enable the tangs to enter the slots, whereupon the body halves are joined to one another. There may be some play or looseness, however, between the assembled body parts inasmuch as the part having the tangs must be capable of movement relative to the other part by an amount such as to provide sufficient clearance between the tangs and the walls of the slots to permit the tangs to enter the slots. Such looseness of the body parts sometimesleads to imperfect connections between terminals and electrical failure of the circuits in which such terminals are connected.

Another disadvantage of conventional terminal connectors is that the terminals must be joined to their respective conductors by a soldering, crimping, or'

other process, as a consequence of which there inevitably is a voltage drop between the terminal and its conductor. Such a voltage drop, however small, generates heat and results in electrical losses. As a result, the conductors and terminals sometimes are made somewhat larger in size than they otherwise would have to be if the electrical losses were eliminated, and the connector parts thus also must be correspondingly increased in size to accommodate such terminals and to dissipate the generated heat.

An object of this invention is to provide a connector construction composed of separable parts and which overcomes the disadvantages of previously'known connectors for similar purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a connector construction having terminal carriers which, when the connector parts are assembled, constantly are urged toward engagement with one another so as to.

promote excellent electrical conductivity between confronting terminals.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multiple terminal connector construction which-is capable of miniaturization as compared to previously known connectors for an equal number terminals.

- Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical connector construction which is compatible with terminals integrally formed atthe ends of their respective conductors.

A further object of the invention is to provide aconnector for electrical terminals and wherein the confronting terminals are sealed against contamination by moisture, dirt, and other foreign substances.

Another object of the invention is to provide'a terminal connector composed of separable parts which, when assembled, fit together with a snap-action which may be felt and heard by the operator, and which require considerably more force to separate than is required to assemble.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out specifically or become apparent from the following description when it is considered' in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which: i

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of the several parts of a connector constructed in accordance with the invention, the terminals and their conductors being omitted; 5

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the connector housing and one terminal carrier and taken generally on the line 2-2 of FIG. 3, but omitting the uppermost terminal carrier shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, but illustrating all of the parts of the connector in the positions occupied at an intermediate stage of assembly;

, FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating the parts infully assembled positions;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an elastomeric conductor and sealing member which is interposed between the confronting terminals supported by the terminal carriers;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, enlarged, sectional view taken on the line ,6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7. is a plan view of one of the terminal carriers forming part of the connector, the terminals and conductors being omitted;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the carrier shown in FIG. 7, but rotated counterclockwise from the position shown in the latter figure;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the connector housing;

FIG. 11 is an inverted sectional view of the housing taken on the line 11-1 1 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the other terminal carrier forming part of the connector, the terminals being omitted; I

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line 13 13 of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is an inverted, elevational view of the carrier shown in FIG. 12.

A connector constructed according to the invention is composed of five parts, not including the terminals, comprising a housing 1, a first terminal carrier 2, a second terminal carrier 3, an elastomeric body 4 adapted to be interposed between the

carriers

2 and 3, and a compression spring 5.

The housing 1 comprises a hollow body 6 formed of insulating material having a cylindrical wall 7 terminating at one end in an annular, radially inwardly directed flange 8 (FIG. 3) which defines a circular opening 9. Adjacent its other end the wall 7 is provided with an inner, annular groove 10 forming a shoulder 11. That end of the wall 7 adjacent the shoulder 11 is provided with a radially inwardly directed, discontinuous flange 12 which preferably comprises three arcuate flange segments uniformly spaced from one another by gaps. The outer surface of the body wall 7 preferably includes a plurality of ribbed finger pieces 13 to facilitate gripping of the housing.

The terminal carrier 2 comprises a cylindrical body 14 formed of insulating material and having a plurality of axial bores 15 extending therethrough, each of the bores having a pair of axially spaced shoulders 16 as is illustrated in FIG. 8. At one end of the body 14 is a radially outwardly directed flange 17 having a diameter corresponding substantially to the inside diameter of the wall 7 of the body 6 between the flange 8 and the groove 10. Upstanding from the flange 17 is a plurality of arcuate arms 18 each of which terminates at its free end in a radially outwardly directed flange 19, the diameter of which corresponds substantially to the diameter of the groove 10 in the housing 1. The spacing between the arms 18 and the arcuate length of each arm are such as to enable the flanges 19 to pass between the segments of the flange 12 of the body 1 and be rotatably seated on the shoulder l l.

The height of each arm 18 is such that, when the flanges 19 seat on the shoulder 11, the flanges 19 may pass under the segments of the flanges 12. Each of the flanges 19 terminates at one end in an upstanding finger 20 and at the other end in a downwardly inclined cam surface 21. The purpose of the fingers 20 and the cams 21 will be explained hereafter.

The terminal carrier 3 comprises a cylindrical body 22 formed of insulating material and having a plurality of axial bores 23 extending therethrough, the number and arrangement of the bores 23 corresponding to the number and arrangement of the bores 15 in the carrier 2. Each bore 23 has a shoulder 24 as illustrated in FIG. 13.

The exterior of the body 22 is provided adjacent one end thereof with discontinuous flange segments 25 of such length as to fit between the finger 20 at one end of a flange 19 and the cam 21 at the end of the adjacent flange 19 of the carrier 2, and the diameter of the flange segments 25 corresponds substantially to the diameter of the flanges 19. At one end of each flange 25 is a rib 26 which is adapted to bear against the associated finger 20 and 'at the opposite end of each flange 25 is a downwardly inclined cam surface 27. The purpose of the cams 27 will be explained hereinafter. The exterior of the carrier 3 has a plurality of ribbed finger pieces 28 to facilitate gripping of the carrier.

Each of the

carriers

2 and 3 is adapted to support a plurality of electrical terminals which preferably are integrally formed at the free ends of wire conductors by deformation thereof in the manner described in copending application Ser. No. 148,786, filed June 1, 1971, and to which reference may be had for a more comprehensive disclosure. Briefly, however, each of the terminals supported by the carrier 2 has a head. 30 integrally formed at the end of a wire conductor 31 surrounded by insulation 32 terminating short of the head 30 so as to provide a reduced neck between thehead and the end of the insulation. A sleeve 33 of insulating material surrounds the insulation 32 adjacent the headed end of each conductor and is force-fitted into one of the bores 15 so as to enable the free end of the terminal head 30 to be exposed. The shoulders 16 of the bores 15 provide for an extremely secure, frictional retention of the terminals in the carrier 2.

The terminals supported by the carrier 3 are similar to the terminals earlier described and each comprises a head 34 integrally formed at an end of a wire conductor 35 surrounded by insulation 36, a portion of the head 34 and the adjacent portion of the insulation 36 being enclosed within an insulating sleeve 37 which is forcefitted into a bore 23 so that the head 34 is exposed. Each of the terminals is securely and frictionally retained in its associated bore by the shoulder 24.

It will be understood that the terminals 30 and 34 are adapted to confront one another when the parts of the connector are assembled so as to establish an electrically conductive path from one terminal to its confronting terminal. It is difficult, however, to mount each terminal in its carrier in such manner that each projects therefrom the same distance. Unless each terminal projects a uniform distance from its associated carrier the contact pressure of all terminals will not be equal. It is even possible that some terminals will not engage their confronting terminals. Theseproblems may be overcome by interposing between confronting terminals the elastomeric member 4 which comprises a resilient, compressible body 38 formed of insulating material such as silicone rubber or the like having a plurality of openings therein corresponding in number and arrangement to the number and arrangement of terminals, each of the openings being filled with pads 39 composed of elastomeric material similar to the material forming the body 38 and containing a plurality of discrete, electrically conductive particles of such size and in such quantity that, when the pads 39 are compressed between confronting terminals, the conductive particles establish a conductive path through each pad. The particles preferably constitute spheres of copper coated with silver and have a diameter of 3 to 8 mils. For a more comprehensive description of the manner in which the body 38 and pads 39 are formed reference may be had to copending application Ser. No. 34,320, filed May 4, 1970, now Pat. No. 3,648,002.

The pads 39 preferably are located wholly inwardly of annular ribs 40 integrally formed on opposite sides of the body 38 so as to be compressed between the terconfront one another actually do so. This relationship may be assured by providing a number of axially extending ribs 44 on the exterior of the body 22 of the carrier 3 for accommodation in axially extending slots 45 formed in the arms 18 of the carrier 2. One of the ribs 44'and one of the slots 45 may be spaced differently from the spacing of the others so that the

carriers

2 and 3 cannot be assembled except in one predetermined position of rotary adjustment thereof.

The ribs 44 and the slots 45 also constitute driving means coupling the

carriers

2 and 3 for conjoint rotation and in such manner asto enable relative axial movement of the carriers. The ribs and slots need not themembers 2 and 3 may continue until such time as .the fingers engage the ends-of the adjacent flanges 12, at which time the flanges 19 will be completely 'clear of the flanges 12, thereby enabling the spring 5 to expand and move the carrier 2 axially toward the carrier 3. By this time, however, the flanges will be in underlying relation with the flanges 12, thereby preventingdisassembly of the carrier 3 from the housing 1. These are the positions of the parts shown in FIG. 4.

As the carrier 2 is rotated clockwise in the manner described above to the position in which the earns 21 emerge from beneath the flanges 12, the movement of the carrier 2 toward the carrier 3 occurs with a snap-action which may be heard and felt by the assembler, who thus will know that the assembly of the parts has been completed. The construction is such that the parts will I not remain assembled unless and until they are in the positions illustrated in FIG. 4.'As a consequence, it is impossible for the par-tsto be assembled only partially.

necessarily be construed as the driving means, however, inasmuch as the interfltting flanges l9 and 25 will effect conjoint rotation of the carriers.

To condition the parts for assembly, the terminals and 34, together with their associated conductors, will be fitted into the respective carriers according to a predetermined arrangement. The spring 5 then may be introduced to the housing 1, following which the carrier 2, fitted with the elastomeric member 4, also may be introduced to the body 1, whereupon the spring 5 will be interposed between the flange 8 and the flange 17. The carrier 2 then may be rotated to such position that the flanges 19 are aligned with the gaps between the flange segments 12 so as to permit the carrier 2 to be moved axially into thebody of the housing until such time as the flanges 19 are located at a level below that of the flanges 12, whereupon the carrier 2 then maybe rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 1, so as to position the flanges 19 in underlying relation with the flanges 12. The fingers 20 will engage the ends of the adjacent flanges 12 so as to limit counterclockwise rotation of the carrier 2 to an amount such as to register the gaps between the arms 18 with the gaps between the flange segments 12, as shown in FIG. 2. In these positions of the parts, the spring 5 constantly biases the carrier 2 axially of the housing 1 but the overlying flanges l2 and 19 cooperate with one another to'disable such axial movement of the carrier.

Following the assembly of the members 1 and 2, the carrier 3 may be so positioned with respect to the carrier 2 that the ribs 44 and the slots 45 are aligned properly and the carrier 3 moved axially of the carrier 2 so as to locate the flanges 25 between the flanges 19, in which position the upper surface of the flanges 25 will be at a level corresponding to the level of the upper surface of the flanges 19. These are the positions of the parts as illustrated in FIG. 3. The carrier 3 then may be rotated clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 1, so as to move the flanges 25 into underlying relation with the flanges 12. Such movement of the flanges 25 is facilitated by the inclined surfaces 27. As the flanges 25 move beneath the flanges 12 the flanges l9 simultaneously move into the gaps between the flanges 12. Rotation of parts are fully ,assembled, thereby providing a visual check on complete assembly. I

Should it be desired to disassemble the parts, the carrier 3 must be rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 4, thereby enabling the cam surfaces 21 on the flanges 19 to move beneath the flanges 12 and facilitate compression ofv the spring 5. Considerably more force is required to effect movement of the parts in the disassembling direction than is required to move them in the opposite direction, thereby inhibiting inadvertent disassembly of the parts.

When the parts are in their fully assembled positions as shown in FIG. 4, the Spring 5 exerts its full force on the carrier 2 so as constantly to urge the latter toward the carrier 3, thereby maintaining the conductive pads 39 tightly compressed between the confronting terminals 30 and 35, regardless of differences v in the distances the terminals may project from their respective carriers'The spring also avoids any looseness or play between the

carriers

2 and 3. The sealing ribs 40 also will be tightly compressed between the confronting ends of the

carriers

2 and 3 so as to seal the area within which the contacts are located.

In the disclosed embodiment there are eight terminals supported in each terminal carrier and, as compared with conventional connectors adapted for joining pin and socket terminals, the size of the connector disclosed herein is considerably smaller. It will be understood, however, that a greater or lesser number of terminals can be supported in the carriers if desired.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently-preferred form of the invention, but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A connector for electrical terminals comprising a housing member; a first carrier member accommodated in said housing member for rotary and axial movements relative thereto, said carrier member being adapted to support at least one terminal; cooperable means on said members operable in a first position of relative rotary adjustment thereof to disable relative axial movement thereof and in a second position of relative rotary adjustment to enable relative axial movement thereof; a second carrier member rotatably assembled with said housing member in the path of axial movement of said first carrier member and adapted to support at least one other terminal in confronting relation with said one terminal; and drive means on said first and second carrier members operable in response to relative rotation of said second carrier member and said housing member to move said first carrier member from said first position to said second position whereby said first carrier is enabled to move toward said second carrier member.

2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 including a pad of resilient, compressible material interposed between said carrier members and having a plurality of electrically conductive particles therein for establishing an electrically conductive path between said carrier members.

3. A connector as set forth in claim 2 including spring means reacting between said housing member and said first carrier member and constantly biasing the latter to move toward said second carrier member under such force as to subject said pad to compression.

4. A connector as set forth in claim 2 wherein said pad is formed from an electrically insulating elastomer.

5. A connector as set forth in claim 1 including spring means reacting between said housing member and said first carrier member and constantly biasing the latter to move toward said second carrier member.

6. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cooperable means comprises discontinuous flange means on said housing member and said first carrier member, the flange means on said housing member overlyingthe flange means on said first carrier member when the latter is in said first position.

7. A connector as set forth in claim 6 wherein the flange means on said first carrier member is capable of passing through gaps formed in the flange means on said housing member when said first carrier member is in said second position.

8. A connector as set forth in claim 6 including discontinuous flange means on said second carrier member and in underlying relation to the flange means on said housing member in said second position of said second carrier member.

9. A connector as set forth in claim 1 including a terminal supported by said carrier member and comprising an electrical conductor having a head projecting beyond said first carrier member toward said second carrier member; and a terminal supported by said second carrier and comprising an electrical conductor having a head projecting beyond said second carrier member toward said first carrier member.

10. A connector for electrical terminals comprising a housing; a first terminal carrier accommodated in said housing for rotary and axial movements relative ment of said first carrier; and driving means coupling said first and second carriers for rotating said first carrier between said first and second positions 1. A connector as set forth in claim 10' includingmeans acting on said first carrier for moving the latter in said one direction axially of said housing in response to rotation of said first carrier to said second position.

12. A connector as set forth in claim 10 wherein said driving means comprises interengageable parts on said carriers axially slidable relatively to one another.

13. A connector as set forth in claim 10 including cooperable flange means on said housing and said first carrier reacting with one another when said first carrier is in said second position to. inhibit rotary movement of said first carrier to said first position.

14. A connector as set forth in claim 13 wherein one of said cooperable flange means has an inclined surface confronting the other of said flange means.

15. A connector for electrical terminals comprising first and second terminal carriers arranged in confronting relation; means mounting each of said carriersfor conjoint rotation and one of said carriers for movement toward and away from the other; means acting on said one of said carriers for moving the latter toward the other of said carriers; means responsive to conjoint rotation of said carriers to'selectively enable and'disa-, ble said movement of said one of said carriers; and means for rotating said carriers.

16. A connector as set forth in claim 15 including at least one terminal carried by each of said carriers, said terminals confronting one another; and resilient, compressible sealing means interposed between said carriers and providing a seal around said terminals.

17. A connector as set forth in claim 15 including a pad of resilient, compressible, electrically insulating material having electrically conductive particles dispersed therein interposed between said terminals, said particles being of such size and being present in such quantity that compression of said pad between said terminals causes said particles to establish an electrically conductive path through said pad.

18. A connector as set forth in claim 15 wherein each of said terminals comprises a head at one end of an electrical conductor, said head being formed by deformationof said conductor and said head constituting an integral part of said conductor.

* l i I!

Claims

6. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cooperable means comprises discontinuous flange means on said housing member and said first carrier member, the flange means on said housing member overlying the flange means on said first carrier member when the latter is in said first position.

10. A connector for electrical terminals comprising a housing; a first terminal carrier accommodated in said housing for rotary and axial movements relative thereto; a second terminal carrier assembled with said housing for rotary movements relative thereto and in the path of movement in one direction of said first carrier; cooperable means carried by said housing and said first carrier operable in a first position of rotary adjustment of said first carrier to disable axial movement thereof in said one direction and to enable such axial movement thereof in a second position of rotary adjustment of said first carrier; and driving means coupling said first and second carriers for rotating said first carrier between said first and second positions.

11. A connector as set forth in claim 10 including means acting on said first carrier for moving the latter in said one direction axially of said housing in response to rotation of said first carrier to said second position.

13. A connector as set forth in claim 10 including cooperable flange means on said housing and said first carrier reacting with one another when said first carrier is in said second position to inhibit rotary movement of said first carrier to said first position.

15. A connector for electrical terminals comprising first and second terminal carriers arranged in confronting relation; means mounting each of said carriers for conjoint rotation and one of said carriers for movement toward and away from the other; means acting on said one of said carriers for moving the latter toward the other of said carriers; means responsive to conjoint rotation of said carriers to selectively enable and disable said movement of said one of said carriers; and means for rotating said carriers.

18. A connector as set forth in claim 15 wherein each of said terminals comprises a head at one end of an electrical conductor, said head being formed by deformation of said conductor and said head constituting an integral part of said conductor.